Art major with the Animation track.
I live in The Valley.
Unweighted GPA somewhere between 3.8-3.9.
Weighted GPA (unsure) 3.9-4.0+
Option 1: Attend CSUN for two years, and then transfer to CSULB. My concern is that it is difficult to transfer between CSUs, and I noticed that the courses for the Animation track at CSULB is a tad bit more in depth than CSUN. I feel there will be a problem with transferring my units.
Option 2: Attend CSUN only (commute 30 min). My concern here is that I care about prestige, and CSULB is a top-tier CSU. However, CSUN IS closer to the studios and I’ve heard that it’s easier to get internships here. (One plus is Camp Matador, though that’s only once…)
Option 3: Choose CSULB only. Here my concern is the price. While tuition is the same, I would have to board here, which is 12k! My household income is 120,000, so annually that would be about 20k a year.
I think you should speak to people in the programs and also in the field and see if they think it makes any difference to attend one or the other. What types of experiences do the students have at each place? Then you might get a sense whether it will be worth it to spend the extra money on CSULB (also living on campus might present some social opportunities not always available to commuter students).
Try contacting an undergraduate adviser in the major to see if they can connect you to students – or you could see if the admissions office could put you in touch with someone. Or you might plan to attend the visiting days and try to see if your department is doing something. This all requires a bit of work on your part but it will be worth the time so you can make an informed decision.